Tourist vehicles restricted at Bhushi dam

The police have banned the entry of tourist vehicles to the popular Bhushi dam near Lonavla on Saturdays and Sundays during the evening to prevent traffic jams due to the rush of tourists.

Pimpri: The police have banned the entry of tourist vehicles to the popular Bhushi dam near Lonavla on Saturdays and Sundays during the evening to prevent traffic jams due to the rush of tourists. The police have also banned people from moving on the spillways of the dam beyond 5 pm on these two days to prevent any untoward incident.

Bhushi dam which is a popular site for tourists during the monsoon has been overflowing for the past few days, following incessant rains. Thousands of tourists from Pune and Mumbai have been visiting the Bhushi dam and other popular locations. Many waterfalls have come alive during the last week near Lonavla and Khandala hill stations, drawing tourists to these places.

The rush of tourists to the hill stations on Saturdays and Sundays invariably leads to traffic congestion in Lonavla, and also on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, causing hardships to the tourists and others. Hence, all vehicles including heavy ones are banned entry towards the dam on every weekends and Sundays since afternoon. Heavy vehicles will also not be allowed to enter Lonavla during this period.
Besides the two hill stations, tourists are also flocking to Lohgad fort and the historic caves at Bhaje.

Entry of vehicles has been banned at these sites too to prevent traffic jams. Meanwhile, Pavana dam which supplies drinking water to Pimpri Chinchwad has been filled to over 50 per cent of its capacity on Saturday. The increased water storage has solved the problem of water shortage in Pimpri-Chinchwad.